MTA New York City Transit today announced that regular scheduled  and Rockaway Park  shuttle service will resume on Tuesday, Sept. 4, following the on-time, on-budget completion of two phases of flood protection work in the Rockaways to fortify  and  subway infrastructure against future storms and to improve service on the peninsula. 

“We are committed to delivering the best service possible, which includes planning ahead for a future in which storms are getting more severe and sea levels are continuing to rise,” said NYC Transit President Andy Byford. “The proactive flood protections we are putting in place in the Rockaways help us ensure subway service can continue to run safely. We thank our customers for their patience while we undertook this important flood mitigation work.” 

Due to its location, the Rockaway Peninsula is vulnerable to flooding and storm surge, which was particularly evident during Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. While Sandy-related flooding affected subway service and damaged equipment throughout the system, a power substation and electrical infrastructure in a NYC Transit facility in the Rockaways were largely unharmed thanks to smart engineering, but need further protection for possible future events. NYC Transit is enhancing its resiliency efforts in the Hammels Wye area to protect critical  line infrastructure with a flood protection project to secure the facilities needed to operate trains safely, such as a signal tower, signal compressor and hydraulic rooms, circuit breaker houses and staff quarters. 

During the first two phases of this Fix&Fortify project this summer, crews installed foundations for a 20-foot-tall perimeter flood wall to surround the three-acre site by driving in 43 micro piles and 50 jet grout columns. Crews also installed steel sheet piles, extended a concrete retaining wall, and began construction of a new building for compressor equipment, which provides compressed air to elevated tracks for signals. The building includes an emergency generator, and altogether the new protections are designed to prevent flooding from the effects of a Category 2 hurricane. 

During the summer work,  and the Rockaway Park  shuttle service were rerouted due to the proximity of the tracks to the planned flood wall and the large size of the equipment required for the construction. Work was conducted in two phases to limit impact on customers, with extra personnel posted at key stations. Beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 4, regular  and the  shuttle service will return to affected stations in both directions. Signage will be posted in affected stations and along the affected lines, and announcements will be made at stations and on trains.  

The final phase of the Hammels Wye flood protection project is scheduled to begin later this fall through spring 2019, during which time crews will complete construction of the compressor building, install four flood gates and bring the site up to grade, in addition to completing other related projects in the area. Any service changes required during the final phase of work will be announced and posted closer to the start of that work to allow customers to plan ahead. 

Fix&Fortify, the post-Sandy resiliency program for MTA New York City Transit, is part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s efforts to address the effects of climate change across the MTA service region. More information on those projects is available here.